1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to a data processing and, more particularly, to governing the transfer of data characterizing a user's behavior, physiological parameters and/or psychological parameters.
2. Description of the Related Art
Generally, users view computers as relatively passive machines having a low level of initiative and merely responding to user requests and input. However, more recently, significant attention has been given to enhancing human-computer interaction (HCl). In particular, engineers and scientists seek to capitalize off of basic human attributes, such as voice, gaze, gesture and emotional state, in order to improve HCl. The ability of a device to detect and respond to human emotions is known as “affective Computing.” For example, researchers at International Business Machines Corporation have measured heart rate, temperature, galvanic skin response and minute body movements of test subjects and then matched those measurements with emotional states, such as happiness, surprise, anger, fear, sadness and disgust. The researchers contemplate facilitating data acquisition by strategic placement of a variety of sensors in different locations or devices such as an office chair, keyboard, mouse, telephone grip. Over time, a computer can learn about a user's personality, emotions, likes and dislikes and even adapt itself accordingly. For example, depending upon a user's emotional state (e.g., tired, anxious or hurried) a computer may slow down or speed up the presentation of information. It is also possible that a computer configured for education may adapt its teaching style according its determination of a student's aptitude for learning.
However, while computers have the ability to determine users' emotions, users will certainly be adverse to the indiscriminate and uncontrolled distribution of raw mood data (i.e., raw data capable of being used to characterize a user's mood, such as heart rate, temperature, galvanic skin response, etc.) and/or processed information indicating the users' moods and/or emotions. Consider, for example, a telephone conference between two business partners. Such a medium of exchange will only allow the business partners to gauge the other's emotional state to a limited degree according to obvious voice inflections. With the current technologies described above, a more complete emotional profile for either or both of the partners may be determined and made available to the other partner. Consider another example in which users are engaged in online gaming (e.g. online poker). A player (human or computer) who is allowed unauthorized access to another player's emotions has a substantial advantage. Consider another example in which investigators perform unauthorized polygraphs via a communications network. Thus, technologies harvesting and/or processing human emotions can result in substantial intrusions to individuals' privacy and are likely to be abused in a variety of ways.
Therefore, there is a need for methods and systems giving users control over the distribution of their computer-captured emotions.